in which we say hello.

Hi you. Yes, you. Let me tell you, today I cared not that it was only 11 degrees celsius and ordered myself a long-desired Timmy’s iced capp. I call that stuff “paradise in a cup.”

paradise in a cup 'chilling' with an apple cobbler donut. (har..har)

One day this past summer I tried explaining to a little girl what the word “paradise” meant, and the furthest we got for her was “…like chicken wings?” I concurred with her. Why not? After all, the definition differs from person to person. Paradise is my iced cappuccino and it is her chicken wings. It all really just depends on how we are looking at it.

My name is Jasmine. I spent most of my summer gawking at glorious sunsets from my home in Hong Kong.

 

o.o

We don’t know each other. But there are possibilities. We might have sat in the same class this past week, or passed each other somewhere between Gerstein and St. George Street. Maybe we lined up for the same microwave or coveted the same last Boston Cream donut at the Sid Smith café. Whatever it may be, we are all possibilities in these words we often abbreviate: “U of T.” I’ve been around for four years now, and still, I often find myself surprised at an ever-increasing definition of what “U of T” is. Formal Google definitions aside, these four small letters hold an infinite capacity for memory – study grinds, coffee, club activities, energy drinks, hasty lunches, tea, swearing at the Robarts map, trying to hide from the Professor’s eye, still lost in Robarts, weekend revelry, and bi-annual Popeye’s chicken deals…the list seems inexhaustible.

my internet proxy: Fuji, modelling what I look like at the end of each day. mostly exhausted. (you'll be seeing quite a bit of him.)

Maybe your U of T is still wispy and budding. Maybe it’s a foreboding gloom over your head. Maybe you are gawking, inspired by its presence and energy. Maybe it’s growing decidedly grey and heavy. Maybe it all really just depends on how we are looking at it. This year I’ll be sharing a lot about my U of T. Resolutions like overcoming my fear of professors in office hours, studying at every single library on campus, winning more than 10% of the time at Roll up the Rim, and fine-tuning my personal study habits to make campus life more rewarding and enjoyable.  Let's trade, shall we? I'll keep telling you about me and you tell me about you. I have discovered that regardless of experience, what always defines U of T is its people. The Professors, T.A.s, campus staff, graduates, and undergraduates. People from every walk of life, people like and not like you and me. And even though we don’t know each other yet, there are possibilities. Here's one more personal resolution: I hope this steady tap-tapping of my fingers telling my stories builds tiny little bridges over to your lit screen, and induces your fingers to reply and say, “Hi you too. Let me tell you...” - Jasmine